 Turn of the century
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From around the turn of the 19th century, there were one or even several reorientations. Thanks to its durability, the combustion engine was slowly leaving its electric counterpart behind. Steam will continue to power a few
vehicles for quite some time. But the petrol engine, with its unrivalled supply of energy in the tank, ultimately managed to beat them all, at least until now.
Petroleum was the prerequisite for this. It became the raw material of the century, exerting a powerful influence on politics and wars. The distribution of vehicle production changed. Germany may have invented the motor
car, but it did not reap the benefits until the 1930s. The French initially adopted the technology, then modified it and became the leading manufacturers in Europe.
After initial difficulties due to legislative hurdles, the United Kingdom also participated in the introduction of such vehicles. Typically, however, production remained more diversified on a smaller scale. It took more than 20
years before the famous Austin Seven became a hit across Europe. An astonishingly simple way to build a complete car.
The same applies to Italian vehicle manufacturing. Early on, Mother Fiat was able to establish itself as a giant active in many areas, which later collected many of the companies founded with Mediterranean business
acumen, or was forced to collect them by the state. The Topolino took Europe by storm a good 10 years after the Austin Seven.
Not to forget, of course, the USA, whose road network was still undeveloped shortly after the turn of the century. Initially, it grew only slowly, but vehicle production grew much faster. Of course, Henry Ford must be mentioned
here with his Model T from 1908 and the introduction of assembly line production in 1913. However, General Motors probably had an even greater influence on engine and vehicle construction with the introduction of
special laboratories from 1911 onwards.
As already mentioned, the steam engine proved to be a tougher opponent than the electric drive in some respects. It delivered the torque that the petrol engine lacked precisely where it was most needed, in the
lower rev range. It did not require a jerky clutch or complex torque converter to start driving. And it worked more quietly than perhaps a rattling single-cylinder engine.
But the efficiency. Presumably, this is why it is cheaper in principle than a combustion engine, because everything takes place in one space, the combustion chamber. This means that the expensive heat generated is not
wasted somewhere outside. The greatest advantage of the combustion engine is the concentration of its pressure generation, while the greatest disadvantage is the resulting crank mechanism, which appears rather
cumbersome.
And how do you intend to operate an aeroplane with a steam engine? In addition to motor racing with engines of more than 20 litres, aviation also pushed the development of engine construction. Of course, the military was
behind it, and the war once again proved to be a cruel driver of technology. Mainly when weapons are upgraded, countries are prepared to invest relatively large sums of money to promote development.
Take Porsche, for example, who, after his debut with electric and hybrid vehicles, made significant inventive contributions to the Austro-Hungarian military. The aircraft engine put engine development on the right track. It
wasn't peak performance at any price that was required, but efficiency, performance combined with low weight and high reliability.
Later, control behaviour was added to achieve greater heights. Did you know that our entire petrol injection technology is based not only on diesel technology, but also on requirements from
aircraft construction? Bosch's injection pumps have not only powered lorries and taxis, but also large aircraft engines.
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